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About this mod
A simple mod that gives a player the choice to forgo armour proficiencies in favour of getting an Unarmoured Defence feature.
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Clerics! They're an interesting class that can cover a surprising amount of conceptual ground. You're following some god or ideal, but while the Cleric sometimes gets pigeonholed into a sort of martial-ish healer, the divine covers a lot. There are gods of thievery, order; nature, craftsmanship; war, peace...
The point: while I like the classic armoured Cleric, I felt like always being incentivised against playing a priest in robes was a bit of a gap. It wasn't lost on the designers! The original 5e Dungeon Master's Guide, all the way back in 2014, noted you might want to do this, and suggested replacing their weapon/armour proficiencies with something like Monk's Unarmoured Defense.
So: this does that. More specifically, it adds a little option at level 1:
- You can stick with normal armour and shield proficiencies, essentially playing a standard Cleric.
- You can trade those in for a Monk's Unarmoured Defence feature.
Weapon proficiencies remain as normal. This isn't really meant to be a super powerful option, although there might be some Clothing options you can now more easily take advantage of. But it might help support some character ideas, which would otherwise have to weigh up taking a small Monk dip.
I can't easily change your starting equipment based on your choice, so be aware you still start with chain mail and a shield. You can loot a robe off of the first body you find, which is immediately after fighting the tutorial imps. So a little annoying, I think, but probably fine. If installing this mid-playthrough, you'll need to respec any Clerics to choose whether you want them to be armoured or unarmoured.
If this sort of flavour does appeal, you might also be interested in the Poverty Domain. This is a lot more broad, though.